“You mustn’t be so open-mined that your brains fall out.” That’s the advice avant garde poet, Marianne Moore once gave to her fellow poet, E. E. Cummings. Whether she had any influence over him or not is unknown but a new biography of the man reveals he was clear about his opi

I admit it. I’ve been known to talk to myself. Yesterday, I had to get snarky. Three times I attempted to leave the house and three times, I returned for my keys, my purse and finally, my gloves. Exasperated, I bellowed to the four walls, “Hello Caroline. How about joining the par

The Gap is a new book by Thomas Suddendorf that argues the reason homo sapiens stand intellectually above other animals isn’t a matter of engineering but the results of having outlived our nearest competitors. According to the author, as little as 30,000 years ago, “several specie

Since my brief hiatus in July, when I entertained a former student from South Africa, the last few weeks have been busy. I taped 4 new episodes of Just Read It. (Click) That’s the ten minute book review program I co-host with Susan Stoner, author of the Sage Adair mystery series.

Donald Trump has probably done more to recruit converts to the political process than any politician in a long time. While his support base remains fixed, those in opposition to his policies are a rising tide. Many of them, as writer E. J. Graff points out, are new to citizen activism

Hope springs eternal. While Donald Trump and Kim Jung-un are playing chicken with life on the planet as we know it, two good outcomes follow. First, Trump’s rhetoric diverts us from thinking about his Russia connection, and second, young men, ages 20-25, who want to look good in

As the saying goes, “It’s an ill wind that blows no good.” Despite the war of nerves Donald Trump is playing with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jung-un, bad political news means good business for some. Since North Korea launched a missile that could reach the United States,

When I wrote the latest version of my will, my attorney noted I’d made no provisions for my ashes. Nonplussed, I asked, “Doesn’t the funeral parlor dump them?” As the deceased-to-be, my lawyer’s question struck me as impertinent. I don’t pay taxes once I’m dead. Wh

The memoir I’m writing touches upon my travels in Africa in the 1960s. In it, I admit never having seen a lion in the wild. I did hear one, once, under unpleasant circumstances. But that story is yet to be written. I can only remark that in the veld, a lion’s roar carries

While the U.S. government sits on its hands and does little to regulate tech monopolies, (Blog 8/16/17) Europe takes an aggressive stand. For example, The European Commission has hit Apple with a claim for $13 billion in back taxes; Uber faces criminal charges for unlicensed taxi